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Douglas TBD Devastator

Douglas' story pending The Destroyer

The Douglas TBD Destroyer, classified as a torpedo bomber, served with the US Navy during the first half of WWII. At the time of its launch, the technology employed in the TBD Destroyer was considered the most advanced aircraft of its kind in the world. It was also the U.S. Navy's first all-metal stand, with hydraulically assisted folding wings (for improved carrier storage) and wheel brakes, and was the first USN monoplane to enter significant service on its carriers.

Additionally, the TBD Devastator offers her three crew members the rather novel convenience of an enclosed cockpita radical departure from the open-air type previously deployed. A limited number of TBD Destroyer was replaced in operational service by a more modern, more adaptable type, leading to the official retirement of the Destroyer in 1942.

In 1944, the aircraft was withdrawn from combat service entirely after seeing notable combat action at the Battles of Coral and Midway.

Torpedo Bomber

Torpedo bombers played a vital role in combat operations in the Pacific Rim, and the success or failure of naval battles depended on individual and collective heroism. Torpedo bombers are a unique group of fighter jets designed to fight all types of enemy surface ships, unlike traditional bombers they can be used to strike a waiting vulnerable side and deliver powerful torpedoes with a high degree of accuracy Loading enemy ships - assuming, of course, that the aircraft bypasses the air defense network that hides large warships and enemy fighter jets. Due to their slow flight, many torpedo bomber designs relied on the protection provided by their own carrier-based escort fighters.

Their bombing raids are often the most critical moments for torpedo-laden aircraft, where their slow, clumsy nature and projected attack runs are open to enemy fire from closer ranges. In today's military aviation, torpedo bombers are gone, replaced by multirole fighter jets and anti-ship helicopters.

Origin and production of TBD Destroyer

The Douglas TBD Destroyer originated from a 1934 US Navy requirement for a carrier-based torpedo bomber. Unlike today's single-winner-based contract programs, the Douglas TBD Devastator design, along with other similar designs, was accepted by competing companies, including those of the Brewster and Vought Group, which produced a rather confusing field of genres and limited production scale for certain designs. The Destroyer appeared in prototype form, named "XTBD-1", and its first flight was recorded on April 15, 1935. Only one prototype was built and evaluated, and it was powered by a Pratt & Whitney XR-1830-60 radial piston engine.

The XTBD-1 was commissioned as "TBD-1" by the U.S. Navy, who entered production using an 850-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 series Twin Wasp radial piston engine. Top speed is 206 mph, range is 435 miles, and service is capped at 19,700 feet.

Climb rate is a controlled speed of 720 feet per minute. The aircraft was introduced on August 3, 1937, with production spanning from 1937 to 1939, with only 130 examples delivered.

Pending Destroyer Walks

Considering the other streamlined torpedo bombers that followed, the Destroyer was rather ungainly in shape. It's a large deep-body plane, staffed by three specialists. The radial piston engine is installed in the forward compartment at the very forward end of the fuselage. The cockpit and crew cabins are just aft of this fortification and are covered with a 'greenhouse' style framed canopy that provides reasonable visibility. The pilot sits up front in the design, and the view above the nose is impressive.

The bombardier (torpedo officer) is located at the center of the facility and uses the legendary Norden Bombsight to manage the bomb facility. When preparing to bomb, the bombardier lay prone against the cockpit floor and managed the bombsight as needed. He also served as the ship's navigator for the crew.

The rear position was occupied by a machine gunner, who was responsible for protecting the aircraft's vulnerable "six" while also serving as the crew's radio operator. The main wing assembly has a unique V-shape, while the landing gear is retractable and has a "tail-trail" arrangement with two main legs and a tail wheel. The main legs are only partially recessed under the wings to allow for emergency landings on aircraft bells, and their designers wanted to reduce structural damage and protect the crew inside the cabin.

The fins are conventional, with a single circular vertical fin and a pair of applicable horizontal fins.

Pending destroyer equipment

In terms of defensive weapons, pending destroyers are limited. The pilot controls a forward-firing 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun or a 12.7mm heavy machine gun to attack the front target, suitable for punitive attacks during bombing operations. The rear gunner had access to a single 7.62mm machine gun, but was later upgraded to include a pair of 7.62mm machine guns for a slight boost in defense.

However, the key to the ultimate success or failure of the torpedo bomber is its attack power. As such, the main weapon of the TBD Devastator series is a 1,200-pound Mark XIII torpedo, designed to attack ships along the long and wide sides.

This offensive charge can be replaced by carrying 1 x 1000lb bombs, 3 x 500lb conventional throwing bombs or up to 12 x 100lb throwing bombs - these bombs are useful when diving or flattening the decks of surface ships.

The United States entered the war

The United States has long maintained a neutral stance due to public opinion formed after its involvement in the First World War, as the war ravaged Europe and the Pacific. In the Pacific theater, Imperial Japan was the main enemy, eroding regional governments and making claims on partially sovereign and colonial territories. It was only with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that public interest in the United States changed, and the United States was well prepared for World War II. America's wartime infrastructure is massive and has responded with an impressive array of weapons. In December 1941, the U.S.

Navy deployed about 100 pending destroyers in its stables, making it the primary U.S. Navy torpedo bomber in the war.

Pending Operation Destroyer

Now that America is fully committed to the war, she has used every means at her disposal. This means that the limited number of pending destroyers should receive their fire baptism in due course. Despite their mid-1930s pedigree, the Destroyer found some early limited success in planning quick raids on Japanese bases throughout the Central Pacific from the start. The attack brought several transports carrying troops and other small ships into the net. They took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, where they claimed to have sank the Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Shoho on May 6, 1942 and caused damage to another Japanese Navy aircraft carrier.

Ultimately, on the eve of the battle, the Japanese wanted to conquer the Australian mainland by acquiring key areas to build seaplane tenders, naval bases and airfields. While the battle proved to be a tactical victory for Japan, combined U.S. and Australian forces were able to achieve a strategic victory that prevented Imperial Japan from invading Australia.

The victory also proved to be a boost to the morale of the Allied forces, which had suffered increasing casualties since the war began.

After the Coral Sea, TBD saw action a month later at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Japan's goal was to occupy Midway, an important base of operations for the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.

Fortunately for the Americans, by this time the Japanese communication codes had been cracked and an invasion of the island was identified and plans were made to deal with an ambush. Dozens of pending destroyers participated in the operation, these were launched from the US aircraft carriers USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, and USS Yorktown (the Japanese failed to destroy the USS Pearl, which was training at the time, and the resulting A "luck "draw" would be a defeat for Japan later in the war).

However, these participating pending destroyers suffered heavy casualties due to slow speed, poor maneuverability, unplanned air cover, and false attacks - none of the torpedoes fired during the attack recorded a single direct hit. Forty-one Destroyers were sent to battle, and only six returned home.

However, the involvement of the pending Destroyer favored the further unfolding of events in the battle, prompting the Japanese to take their own unplanned actions and discover the weakness of their invading fleet. At least one Japanese heavy cruiser was eventually killed at the hands of the Destroyer, and another heavy cruiser was reportedly severely damaged by the Destroyer's actions.

The resulting battle resulted in a clear victory for the United States and marked the end of the eastward expansion of the Japanese Empire in the Pacific.

End of the road

With Australia and Midway under control, the days of the TBD Destroyer are coming to an end soon. Although considered a highly advanced design in 1935, the TBD Destroyer became completely and generally obsolete as the war progressed, especially with the advancements made in 1942.

Their performance has been at a disadvantage in low-level offense, and their defensive mobility is severely lacking. Also, their light defensive weapons have limited range.

As such, their operation at Midway represented the final battle for the Destroyer crew, from which point the type would be relegated to government training missions for future torpedo bomber crews until it was fully recovered from the war by the end of the war. US Navy service - their entire combat life is only six months.

The aircraft was withdrawn from front-line service in mid-1942.

The TBD Destroyer was used exclusively by the US Navy, to a limited extent by the Marine Corps, and was officially replaced in combat service by the more capable Grumman TBF Avenger series. Unfortunately for Destroyer's Legacy, none of the war mounts consumed by museum visitors after the war survived, leaving her footnotes on the pages of history books and websites, while also living on those who depended on her. in the human mind.

The USN VT-3 TBD Destroyer was used in the 1941 theatrical promo "Dive Bomber". One of the VT-3 aircraft was also loaned to the U.S. Marine Corps VMS-2 group, which operated its only prototype until June 1941.

A modified TBD Destroyer was tested as a seaplane, codenamed "TBD-1A", although the design never made it to mass production.